Vintage Budget Eco Bride

Before you go tossing any of the packing material some of your Christmas gifts came in, you may want to keep some of it.  Or, you may have some of these left from previous years, saving them in case you found a use for them.  In particular, a cloth bag that a sheet set or pajamas came in, or a zippered plastic one that a bath kit or a sheet set came in would make a great travel toiletry bag to take on your honeymoon.  It can also double as a bridal emergency bag for the wedding day itself (or, if you have more than one bag, make up one for each).

Hair Accessories Travel Bag

Of course, you can always buy a bag, like this one from the SpoonSisters (it is really cute, and I'd be tempted if I didn't have several bags from sheet sets), but a free bag is always better than one you have to pay for.

If you are looking for a gift for a bride, you can always get a sheet set for her that has a bag, and suggest in the card that she reuse the bag for a wedding emergency kit or honeymoon toiletry bag.


Travel Nail Polish Remover

One of the things that you will want to include in your Bride emergency kit is nail polish remover-- and travel nail polish remover is the least likely to spill (spilled nail polish remover could cause a bigger emergency than your kit could deal with!) and the easiest to fit in your kit.  If your kit is also doubling as your honeymoon toiletry bag, so much the better.

Keep tuned for more bride emergency kit and honeymoon packing ideas.

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Have a lot of guests that do not have a lot of money?  Have a lot of things you need that are not gifts that your guests can wrap up for you?  Consider using the Alternative Gift Registry.  Ask for a pet sitter while you are on your honeymoon.  Ask for help setting up your reception hall.  Find guests who have extra room in their homes that would be willing to house your out of town guests.  These are only a few ideas... there are many more things you can add to the Alternate Gift Registry!

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The above labels are free Suzee Que Vintage mailing labels. If you click the link, it will take you to more labels and instructions for downloading and using them. These would look great on invitation envelopes.

If the above are too ornate for your taste, there is the Lil' Prettie mailing label from Le Blagh (the blog may have moved, but all the previous posts are still there, including some lovely free downloads). It has a simple vintage flavor.

If a wrap label (a label that wraps around one side of the envelope) is more your style, there is the French Postcard wrap label from Le Blagh (subtitled Pretty Procrastination) as well. The blog post also includes a free bookplate download at the bottom.

The Antique Ledger wrap label, also from Le Blagh, is simpler than the French Postcard wrap label, and could showcase a love of math and vintage.

The Ming wrap labels and mini Ming mailing label are more contemporary looking, but could still pass for vintage.

Wrap labels will need to be printed out on a piece of paper and then pasted onto envelopes. Depending on how talented you are with the computer and printer, the mailing labels may be printed and pasted, or printed directly onto the envelopes. Most of the labels will need the addresses handwritten on unless, of course, you can figure out how to get the addresses typed inside. Be careful with the first set of labels-- they are set to prepopulate the rest of the labels on a sheet once you have typed in the first label on the sheet.

If you want to play around with just decorating your envelopes (or your own DIY invitations), check out the Graphics Fairy.

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While there are some lovely save the date emails one can purchase (especially on Etsy), we're trying to keep what we spend to a minimum. That's why free email save the dates are so wonderful. Bonus: no paper is used, so they are green! Note that there are a mixture of vintage and contemporary looks in save the date emails.

Some places that offer free emailable save the dates:

Smile Box
Evite
Punch Bowl

If you need to send some of your save the dates through snail mail, why not use this adorable Giving Tree template (Click link for instructions-- but don't feel you that you need to use the exact paper products they suggest):




The save the date is meant for a fall wedding, but my fiance and I thought it would work just fine for a June wedding. It has a nostalgic feel that will go will our vintage casual theme, so don't feel you have to be having a fall wedding to use this!

The image can be printed out on cardstock (use the same cardstock as your invitations if you are making DIY formal invitations—) for snail mail, and insert the save the date (save it as an image file like a .jpeg instead of a pdf) as an image into an email message to those you can email. The instructions also include a mailing label for those you want to mail out.

Visit the Wedding Window for some other DIY save the date ideas, like Save the Date hankies, or Save the Date calendars. Keep in mind that some of these ideas will not be as inexpensive as the emails, or even printing out your own save the dates on cardstock.

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